Lullabies
by TheRumor15
Summary: When Eli finds Cam's body, Jake comforts him. (Goes with the episode Bittersweet Symphony pt 2).


**A/N: This story is also posted on my blog on tumblr. Also, some of what Eli says to Principal Simpson may seem ooc and simple, however it is meant to be read as such, seeing as he is in shock and not completely comprehending things at first. Hope you enjoy!**

When Eli arrived at school this morning, his plan was to apologize to Clare, and have them continue on their journey to "happily ever after". That was all Eli wanted.

He did not want this.

He could barely breathe. His heart was beating so hard that he thought it would explode. Eli took a few hesitant steps forward and into the greenhouse. That was all he needed to do to know that he was looking at exactly what he thought it was. Campbell Saunders' dead body.

Eli brought his hand to his forehead, drawing in a shuddering breath. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't look away from what was in front of him. Eli's vision began to swim around in front of him. All he could make out was red. He shook his head, desperately trying to change the image in front of him. He stumbled back when he felt a light touch on his shoulder. He turned around to see Mr. Simpson and paramedics surrounding the greenhouse. Eli didn't know when they'd gotten there. Mr. Simpson gently guided Eli over to the back of an ambulance. Eli resisted at first. After all, he was fine. _He_ wasn't the one lying on the ground in the greenhouse. He stopped walking and shut his eyes again for a moment. All Eli wanted was for the image to leave his head, but it wouldn't. He tiredly let Mr. Simpson lead him the rest of the way to the back of the ambulance.

"Eli," Mr. Simpson started softly. "I need you to tell me and the paramedics what happened."

Eli swallowed and took a breath.

"Clare and I were walking... And then I thought I saw something red in the greenhouse." Eli started. "And then we got a bit closer, and... Everything was red. I sent Clare to call 911, and..." Eli trailed off. What was he supposed to say next? That he had walked up and stared in horror at Cam's body until they found him?

The paramedic who had been standing with Mr. Simpson wrapped a blue fleece blanket around Eli's shoulders before indicating that she would be right back. Mr. Simpson remained by Eli's side for a moment.

"Are you okay, Eli?"

Eli shrugged. Mr. Simpson frowned at this, but didn't press further. He turned and walked back toward the school, leaving Eli alone to be swept into the storm in his head.

Minutes later, Eli was snapped out of his thoughts by a paramedic loudly exclaiming,

"I'm sorry, sir, but you can't go in there!"

Eli followed the voice and sure enough, found that it was Jake being kept out of his greenhouse. After staring for a few moments, Eli successfully made eye contact with Jake, who upon noticing Eli's location had already begun to speed over. Before Jake could say anything, the paramedic who had been observing Eli stepped in.

"Sir, you can't-"

"-It's fine, he's my best friend." Eli shakily interrupted.

The paramedic looked between the two boys before nodding and giving them some privacy.

After watching her walk away, Eli turned his attention back toward Jake, who was staring at him concernedly.

"Pictures last longer." Eli said softly, his eyes dropping down to his lap. After no comment from Jake, Eli once again looked up. Jake was frowning, the look of concern only setting itself deeper in his features.

"What's going on? First I'm not allowed in my greenhouse, and now you're here in the back of an ambulance..." Jake trailed off, slight frustration hanging on his words. Eli shuddered slightly, shaking his head. He didn't want to talk about what happened. He didn't even want to acknowledge that this was happening. Eli could feel his face heating up, but he didn't feel like he was going to cry. He felt dizzy and hot, yet he pulled the blanket tighter around him.

Jake sensed that his questioning was making Eli uncomfortable. He frowned, taking in Eli's flushed face and trembling body. Jake lifted himself onto the back of the ambulance to sit next to his friend and attempt to calm him down.

Eli felt Jake's strong arm wrap around his shoulder and pull him closer to him.

"You don't need to tell me if-" Jake stopped abruptly, his eyes landing on the body bag that the paramedics were wheeling out of the greenhouse. He slowly turned to look at Eli, whose face had blanched completely. Suddenly, Eli lurched forward, emptying the contents of his stomach on the ground. Jake immediately rubbed Eli's back and began to murmur words of comfort to him. After Eli's stomach had settled, he slowly brought himself back up next to Jake, who was also shaking slightly. After all, he had just seen a body bag being wheeled out of his greenhouse. Eli silently offered part of his blanket to Jake, who gladly accepted it, and for a few moments, the two boys sat shoulder to shoulder saying nothing.

It was 9:35am when Mr. Simpson made the formal announcement that a student had committed suicide in the greenhouse. It was 9:40am when the entire school had put it together that the student had been Campbell Saunders. It was 9:41am when Eli realized that he couldn't handle being in the classroom as his classmates began to realize that he had been the student to find Cam's body.

Eli darted out of his classroom and into the hallway. He slid down against the wall, putting his head in his hands. He still couldn't believe the events of that morning. He didn't know if he ever would.

It was 9:45am when Jake found Eli against the wall. He slid down next to his friend, but said nothing. He needed to give Eli time, and that was something Jake was willing to do. So he sat and waited. It was 10:00am when Eli suddenly collapsed against Jake's shoulder, sobbing. And it was 10:01am when both boys wished that they couldn't feel a thing.

Eli walked slowly through the school hallways. He could feel everyone staring at him, but he didn't care. He just needed to get out. He needed to get the image of Cam's body out of his head. He needed to stop hearing about Cam, but more than anything, Eli needed to stop feeling. He needed to stop feeling the guilt that was building up inside of him, because if he had just gotten there earlier...

_Stop._ Eli inwardly scolded himself. But his mind seemed to have a different plan for him. Eli's thoughts spun around in his head, and they seemed hell bent on destroying him.

Eli stumbled to the door of Jake's class, and one look was all it took for Jake to be at Eli's side.

"Can we go?" Eli asked. And Jake nodded, knowing that Eli didn't just mean leaving the school.

The weed was supposed to help. Jake and Eli were supposed to be carefree, just playing video games and finally receiving peace from their minds.

But it didn't work.

Eli could still feel everything, and so could Jake. Jake roller bladed into the living room with caramel covered popcorn in an attempt to help cheer Eli up, but he knew that none of them really had an appetite. Eli took some of the popcorn in an attempt to show Jake that he was okay, but both of them knew it wasn't true.

Jake sighed, knowing that he was about to make everything worse, but he needed to tell Eli what had been on his mind throughout the day.

"Hey, if you hadn't found Cam... It probably would have been me. So... Thanks for that." As soon as the words left his mouth, Jake couldn't help but cringe. He glanced over at Eli, and was a bit taken aback by how he had simply responded,

"You are welcome, good sir."

In an attempt to keep the mood somewhat brighter, Jake tried to joke,

"Is my greenhouse going to be haunted?"

Jake's breath caught in his throat when Eli answered

"No, just me."

Eli tried to lighten the mood by playing more video games, but Jake couldn't ignore the darkness hanging off of his friend. Eli looked tormented, and Jake couldn't leave it alone.

"Eli, I'm trying my best to give you time, but you can't ignore what happened today." Jake said softly.

"I'm not." Eli answered a little too forcefully.

"Eli-" Jake started again.

"-What am I supposed to do, Jake?! I didn't find him on purpose. I didn't even know him, so how am I supposed to handle all of this guilt and... And..." Eli's voice shook as he struggled to finish. "It shouldn't hurt this much." he whimpered before putting his head in his hands.

"You're talking, and that's a good start." Jake said. "But I'm not going to force you into anything. Just talk when you're ready."

Jake removed his roller blades and cleaned up the living room in order to give Eli some time to just think. When he returned to his spot on the couch beside Eli, he could hear his friend sniffling. Eli looked up at Jake, his eyes full of pain. Jake gave Eli a sad smile.

"Come here," Jake said, opening his arms. He wrapped them around Eli as he fell into his embrace. Jake was startled when Eli wrapped his arms around him, holding on with almost all of his strength.

At that moment, the exhaustion that had been lingering around the two boys took full effect. Jake rearranged himself and Eli on the couch so there was enough room for the two of them to lie down. He swallowed nervously and took a deep breath and began to hum a melody that his father had used after Jake's mother had passed away. At first, Jake was uncomfortable with using that melody, but after Eli's sniffles had died down and been replaced by soft, steady breathing, he knew that he'd done the right thing. And that was enough to allow Jake to follow into a light slumber. And finally, Jake and Eli felt nothing but peace.


End file.
